Though I've always loved the art style, as an older gamer I can appreciate the fact that the game is incredibly simple to beat in comparison to modern games and really doesn't offer much in the way of clever enemies, as the same enemies are just reused for each level with a couple of puzzles thrown in to successfully fight the bosses (which are all the same.) A absolute blast back in it's prime and even though it has severely aged it is still fun to play now.
this is so much easier as an adult??? i played this in one sitting in bed while my nesting partner snoozed next to me. i didn't use level warp pipes because i wanted to experience the whole game. i think this is the first time i've actually beaten this??? still very nostalgic, though, as this is the first video game i really remember playing.
Decided that since it's been a while since I played the original Super Mario Bros., it was worth giving it another go via the Nintendo Switch's NES emulation.
Where I stood on the original Mario platformer back in the day is where I stand now: the game is great, has lots of retro charm to it, yet the advances made in Mario ever since this first entry have rendered this game seemingly obsolete besides revisiting it for nostalgia's sake. The controls are too floaty for my taste, and the level design is a tad bland; not bad, though, by any means.
Playing via the Switch is also not that recommended in my opinion if you're planning on playing with the joycon controllers. The lack of a true D-pad on the Switch makes the game a real hassle when wrestling with the wonky directional buttons. Play this on the OG console, the litany of other ports, other forms of emulation, or if you're going to give this a go on Switch, use a dedicated controller and not the joycons.
Where I stood on the original Mario platformer back in the day is where I stand now: the game is great, has lots of retro charm to it, yet the advances made in Mario ever since this first entry have rendered this game seemingly obsolete besides revisiting it for nostalgia's sake. The controls are too floaty for my taste, and the level design is a tad bland; not bad, though, by any means.
Playing via the Switch is also not that recommended in my opinion if you're planning on playing with the joycon controllers. The lack of a true D-pad on the Switch makes the game a real hassle when wrestling with the wonky directional buttons. Play this on the OG console, the litany of other ports, other forms of emulation, or if you're going to give this a go on Switch, use a dedicated controller and not the joycons.
There are a few key points in video game history where a game singlehandedly becomes the public's entire concept of what a video game is. Games that not only become so popular in their own right that they become ubiquitously synonymous with the medium itself, but prove to be so inspirational to other developers that they bring about a convergence.
Within a year of Super Mario Bros, every other developer was trying to make a Super Mario Bros. Mario became video games, and through repeated demonstrations of polish and visionaryism, he would remain video games for the next four console generations.
Mario is good.
Within a year of Super Mario Bros, every other developer was trying to make a Super Mario Bros. Mario became video games, and through repeated demonstrations of polish and visionaryism, he would remain video games for the next four console generations.
Mario is good.
I know it's an absolute classic, but playing it in the modern day is just a bit of a struggle. The controls don't feel tight enough for a platformer, and the way that they try to extend gameplay by making you restart games on gameovers in this era feels like too much of a time waster these days (luckily most modern releases of the game does have save states, but you may feel like that's cheating).
There's still some fun to be had here, and the music is always great.
Regardless of my low-ish score, the game is a 10/10 for history purposes.
There's still some fun to be had here, and the music is always great.
Regardless of my low-ish score, the game is a 10/10 for history purposes.